A Forbes CEO Network Breakfast Series Discussion
With the explosion of new data available to today's mobile professionals spurred by new applications, processing power and devices, proven results can be traced to one important factor: real-time decision-making. This was the consensus of a distinguished panel of experts who participated in a recent Forbes CEO Breakfast Series event held in Chicago and sponsored by EDS, now HP Enterprise Services. HP brought senior thought leaders together from Motorola, Microsoft and O4 Corporation, to provide lively debate on how to maximize enterprisewide mobile solutions and new handheld applications to stay ahead of the competition.
The panel was kicked-off with a keynote presentation by Patricia Wilkey, Leader of Global Desktop & Mobility for HP Enterprise Services, who set the stage with a recitation of the technology trends that have led to an explosion of mobile technologies – next generation networks, consolidation of carriers, ubiquitous Internet and enhanced device features. Wilkey urged the audience to consider the distinctive needs of today's mobile users when designing mobile solutions.
According to the panelists, enterprise companies often focus on revenue, cost and customer satisfaction as key performance indicators for mobility solutions without looking at the basics of field service. Understanding the way mobile professionals operate on a daily basis can actually provide vital insight into additional metrics – such as remote order-taking and customer billing – that would provide more efficiency in the long run.
“Most companies start with an initial set of metrics, such as getting service technicians to a location faster so they can visit more customers each day,” said Laura Johnson, director of MCB Partner Marketing, Microsoft. “Companies should be focusing on what else those technicians can do to add even more value on-site since they've already built the infrastructure.”
Next-Generation Mobility Solutions
Beyond satisfying customers, next-generation mobility solutions are also being deployed in retail environments to assist with real-time inventory and sales situations. “If a sales rep is in a department store and can report immediately where out-of-stocks are occurring, what the displays look like and what competitive activity is taking place, it will revolutionize business,” said Gary Goff, V.P. marketing and business development, O4 Corporation.
Other mobility solutions beginning to emerge in today's marketplace are predictive modeling tools that can foresee inventory stock depletions based on specific algorithm factors and send alerts to remote sales reps before they even visit the store. “The missing link between out-of-stocks, promotion and execution was the real-time visibility of retail conditions, and now we've got that,” said Goff.
The risk of developing new mobile solutions with opportunities for remote data entry and on-site performance measurement is that too much data will prevent good decision-making. The panel rebuffed this assertion based on three factors: Today's data is action-oriented (fixing a tangible problem like out-of-stocks); processing power of remote devices has increased significantly (enabling PDA-type devices to filter information); and enterprise IT is doing a better job with application services to make information relevant to the user.
“There's an interesting paradigm shift when you go to mobile,” said John Pomerleau, Enterprise Mobility Business, Motorola. “You now only need the information you can actually interact with on the spot; you don't need to know historical information.”
The process of filtering this information and ensuring that the right person has access to it at the right time is the IT department's job. Or is it? All the panelists agreed that a true mobile solution needs executive sponsorship, IT responsibility for system installation and maintenance, field service for refinement and measurement, and C-level support for usage and deployment.
“We're not only talking about the results that come out of a mobile solution; we're talking about new ways of going to market, and that's all the more reason why there should be C-level involvement from day one,” said Goff.
Whether it's a customer-focused solution aimed at improving customer service or real-time tools used for inventory efficiency, the panel stressed that today's mobile technology is most effective when it's results driven – from creation to implementation.
Moderator Quentin Hardy from Forbes Silicon Valley Bureau put it best, “It's all about action.”
